The Vatican’s doctrinal office has expressed reservations about an alleged Marian apparition site in southern Italy, permitting only private devotion and warning that claims that a deceased woman has communicated messages through a guardian angel “require further study.”

Sant’Onofrio is a mountain in the southern Italian region of Molise, close to the town of Agnone. Since 2009, a resident of the area, Michelino Marcovecchio, has claimed to receive visions of the Virgin Mary and messages from her.

He has also claimed to hear the voice of his deceased mother-in-law, Livia Casciano, through his guardian angel.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) gave the alleged supernatural experiences at Mount Sant’Onofrio a judgment of “prae oculis habeatur” (“let it be held before the eyes”), meaning there are “important positive signs” but “some aspects of confusion or potential risk are also perceived,” and “doctrinal clarification might be necessary.”

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“Why does it seem that wherever the government is, God can’t be? Why is it that hurting kids can’t turn to the healing power of the Bible during the school day?”

That’s the question posed by a new documentary that examines the growing movement to bring Bible-based education back to students in public schools.

Produced by Ohio-based LifeWise Academy in partnership with Fathom Entertainment, “Off School Property: Solving the Separation of Church and State,” directed by Nate Lundquist, delves into the historic role of the Bible in American public education and its removal in the 1960s, exploring the societal impacts and the push for its return through released time religious instruction (RTRI).

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Richard T said:

Perhaps your cessionist and thats fine if you wish to limit visions. My personal experience says otherwise.

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I had a dream I knew was legitimate, so I tried to keep my mouth shut about it, i made it 3 weeks.

The dream was very simple, I saw a woman (not identifiable) walk up to me and ask permission to pray for me.

3 weeks later at a youthgroup, a friend walks up to me, and I tell her that 3 weeks ago I had a dream of a woman walked up to me to ask permission to pray for me. -the Spirit had just directly told her to pray for me. she was overjoyed, we went outside.

She remains the only person at that youth group who even attempted to pray for me, and whos prayers were immediately effective.

I am working on a website collecting details on places and objects for self-guided American Church history tours. It has been encouraging to find so much remains that our government has not removed or been destroyed by time.
I have found when I search online for this topic the Latter-Day Saints have cornered the market for church history tours, and they are promoting faithful evangelicals as their forefathers and retelling the story. I would love to hear some resources, blogs, websites, professors, etc. I could use as I do my research and also to connect with those who may have interest in this topic.

Here is my website if this interests anyone. Beside Old Hearthstones - An American Evangelical Church History Tour Thanks in advance!

Would have thought such estimates would be straight forward. It was known relatively soon after the pandemic began that some age groups were more adversely impacted than others. So you look at the mortality rate due to the virus in each age group, breaking it down between vaccinated and unvaccinated. The difference between the two would be the decrease in mortality due to the vaccine. Apply that rate to the number of vaccinated in each group and it should be possible to come up with an estimate of lives saved due to the vaccine. Such data was available prior to Omicron, and the significant difference in my demographic is what convinced me to get vaccinated. But if someone applied the same morality rate across all age groups, that could inflate the numbers because some age groups didn't have the same mortality rates.

CoreyD said:

I'm tempted to give a thorough response, but since getting into this might be considered off topic, could you please take a look at 2 Thessalonians 2:6, 7, and the surrounding verses, as well as Acts 20:29, 30, as soon as you get opportunity. ...and can you please consider when these words were written, and when the writer died.
From those words would it have taken 400 years or more like 40... or even 4... if we consider 2 Peter 2:1 and 1 John 2:18, 19?

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Well at frist is was being stamped out. But as time progressed stuff got incorporated.

Tuur said:

Off topic comment ahead: Maybe I need to take a break. I saw Scotus and thought "What does the US Supreme Court have to do with theology?"

Sigh.

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They will soon weigh in also.

Bradskii said:

I guess you don't play golf. Cheating in the game is considered to be an undeniable reflection of your character. You simply don't do it. Even if you're playing alone. That Trump cheats doesn't surprise me in the slightest. In fact, based on his character, it would be something I'd assume he does regularly. It epitomises him.

If he lies, you can say he was mistaken or that it was an 'alternative fact'. If he says something crude or racist or misogynist then you can say it was taken out of context. If he makes a remarkably stupid claim like dropping drug prices by 1700% then you can call it exaggeration for effect. But if he cheats at golf, his true character - or rather his lack of character, is there for all the world to see. That one simple act sums up the man.

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Americans are coming around to the morality of whatever you can get away with.

Thought for the Day​

Cardinal Sarah delivered a STIRRING speech today in France:

'Too often in the West, religion is presented as an activity in the service of human well-being. Religion is equated with humanitarian efforts, acts of charity, the welcoming of migrants and the homeless, the promotion of universal fraternity and peace in the world. Even if these matters are important, this vision of religion is false. Religion is not a matter of food or humanitarian action. In the desert, this was the first temptation that Jesus rejected'

“I want to say once again ... how very sorry I am for my past actions.”​

A North Carolina priest has resigned his parish, after news reporting detailed allegations of sexual and spiritual manipulation in the context of spiritual direction.

The priest, who has been banned from a Catholic university in Virginia over the allegations against him, was made last month administrator of St. Paul Parish in New Bern, North Carolina, and resigned from the office Friday evening.



St. Paul Catholic Church, New Bern, North Carolina. Courtesy photo.

“After a recent news publication, I will be voluntarily stepping away from ministry at St. Paul and St. Peter the Fisherman and moving away from New Bern,” wrote Fr. Steven Costello in a July 25 email to parishioners, obtained on Saturday by The Pillar.

“I want to say once again as I did when I returned here in October how very sorry I am for my past actions.” I will say that it was certainly the worst mistake of my life,” the priest added.

—
Costello’s resignation came one day after The Pillar reported that a former spiritual directee had alleged against him a three-year period of abuse and manipulation, during which he reportedly said that God had given them a unique relationship, which he allegedly characterized as “spousal friendship.”

In the context of that relationship — during which he allegedly manipulated the woman’s emotional vulnerabilities disclosed in spiritual direction — the priest often told the woman he loved her, initiated hand-holding and cuddling sessions, touched her breasts, discussed his sexual desire for her, and disclosed to her that he had [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] while texting her, or during a FaceTime Call.

The priest allegedly analogized the couple’s relationship to the mystical spirituality of St. Theresa of Avila, while urging the woman to be “discreet,” because others, including her husband, would not “understand” the nature of their relationship.

According to the woman, the priest also disclosed to her that he had engaged in three similar relationships with women in the past.

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TRUEPeace said:

God speaks to your heart not your head. You will know when it's God speaking and when it is something else.

God bless

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I'm glad for you that it's a simple distinction, but that's not always the case for all of us. Some of us have to learn to listen to how God speaks to us, and some of us have a lot of noise in our heads and hearts. I recently had a conversation with a friend about computers and he and I can discuss things that most people don't have the capacity to follow. It comes naturally to us. Some people discern God's voice more easily than others. You sound like you are one of those, and that's great!

Not to mention, Jesus would have prayed the psalms regularly, as do many mainline Protestants do.

Glory to God!

Glory to God! May God increase their number!

Lord have mercy!

There is a strong unease among the accelerationist revolutionaries who still wander the Roman palaces: they are determined to prove at all costs that Leo XIV is fully continuing the agenda initiated by Francis. Spadaro, in particular, is aligned with those hardline Bergoglians who, during the last conclave, persisted to the very end in order to prevent Prevost from ascending to the See of Peter.

The Dehonian Editions of Bologna, Italy, recently published a book that was immediately met with criticism and scandal, particularly within the Vatican Curia. Jesuit Antonio Spadaro, Undersecretary at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, is the author of the book Da Francesco a Leone (“From Francis to Leo”). As the title clearly suggests, the aim of the book is to demonstrate complete continuity in governance between Bergoglio and Prevost.

There is a strong unease among the accelerationist revolutionaries who still wander the Roman palaces: they are determined to prove at all costs that Leo XIV is fully continuing the agendainitiated by Francis. Spadaro, in particular, is aligned with those hardline Bergoglians who, during the last conclave, persisted to the very end in order to prevent Prevost from ascending to the See of Peter. Among them are Jesuit Jean-Claude Hollerich and the 'people’s theologian' Víctor Manuel Fernandez.

The book's subtitle reads: 'With an unpublished interview with Cardinal Francis R. Prevost.' Yet, the interview in question is actually a transcription of a public conversation the former Prefect for Bishops gave nearly a year ago, on August 7, 2024, at the Augustinian parish of St. Jude Church in New Lenox, Illinois. The questions were written and proposed by Father Ray Flores, not by Father Spadaro. Nico Spuntoni, writing in La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, even points out that, according to social media, the Jesuit was in Sicily at the time—not in the USA. Both the Jesuit and the publishing house quickly took steps to contain the fallout, yet the book's cover remains quite explicit.

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The Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication reiterated its long-standing call for recognition of Palestine statehood amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict after France announced last week it would recognize the region’s statehood.

The editorial manager for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli, called for a “two-state solution” and recognition of Palestine as a state in a July 27 editorial.

In the editorial, Tornielli cited France’s recent movement toward recognition. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a post on X that France would recognize Palestine as a state — a plan that was quickly rejected by various Western countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Australia.

In addition to affirming Palestine as a state, Macron called for the demilitarization of the terrorist group Hamas that runs the government of Gaza. He demanded the release of the hostages, called for humanitarian aid for Gaza, and said that Palestine must accept demilitarization and fully recognize Israel.

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Church of Notre-Dame-des-Champs in Paris, which arsonists set fire to the day after an electrical fire damaged the church. | Credit: Julien Jean Zayatz/Shutterstock

Notre Dame des Champs, an iconic Catholic church in the Parisian neighborhood of Montparnasse, was targeted in an arson attack just 24 hours after an accidental fire broke out in its choir loft.

The cause of the first fire, which broke out on the morning of July 23, has been attributed to a failed electrical circuit that resulted in the destruction of the church’s sound system and choir organ, according to a Le Figaro report.

The next day, in a side chapel dedicated to St. Joseph, vandals set fire to wood panels. A recently renovated canvas located above the wood panels sustained significant damage. A statue of St. Joseph fell and broke while firefighters put out the flames, according to a reportfrom the Tablet, which said there have been “50 fires or attempted arson cases” in French churches in the past year, compared with 38 in 2023.

No one was reported injured in either incident.

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Where is this supposed to go? Kitchen Sink or Science?

Is it possible that former Satanist John Ramirez has much of the "mantle" of Pastor David Wilkerson on him?

Evangelist Ramirez reminds me of The Apostle Paul in so many ways. He used to hate Christians but now he is preaching Christ as well as true Holiness such as I am sure the Apostle Paul would love to see preached at this time.

Sorry, but I find I don't have much confidence in human organizations. People are people; some good, some bad, all fallible. Have seen too much done by people in churches to think that's any different. That ranges from disreputable Protestant ministers to a Roman Catholic priest who insisted a load bearing support in the church could be removed, only to have the roof fall on him. I have also met good ministers in various denominations, so it's not a case that all is bad.

The same for congregations. It hurt when I saw my parents hurt in a church because of a disreputable minister and the congregation went right along with him. After he left, my mother wanted to go back, but my father correctly observed that while the minister was gone, the people who went along with him were still there. It didn't hurt me personally, but when I saw the same behavior in the church where I was a member in regards to some others, that didn't help any. But my parents did find a church to attend, in another denomination which perhaps says a lot, and when we attended church there with them, it felt like "home." My point is that congregations can vary as much as ministers, and it goes back to that we're all fallible.

The important thing is that this is the dealings of humanity and not Christ. Distrust of fallible humans isn't the same as distrust of God, though the two can overlap.

The Barbarian said:

BTW, the platypus doesn't have a duck's bill. The mouthparts are soft and sensitive, and not remotely like a beak in any way. Even the Northern Shoveler doesn't have a beak as wide and prominent as the mouthparts of a platypus.

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Now you are just paying lip service to the OP!

Dear Elephants are Majestic,

I can feel the pain and hurt in your words. Many people get sucked into the path of self-stlimulation. Alcohol, drugs, and porn are only some of the ways people can live in the flesh. Paul call Christians who do not get past this level "babes".

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I do not know if there is a 12 step program similar to Aanon (the self-help group for family members of alcoholics) for porn, but you might find a Alanon group that would be a helpful in general The pain you feel is sadly not uncommon.